Florence Peretola Airport, Pisa Gal Galilei Airport, Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport, Rome Airports, Venice Marco Polo Airport
Great for Groups
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yes
Features
Pool
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Yes
Fireplace
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Yes
BBQ area
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Yes
Parking Available
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Yes
Central heating
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Yes
Internet/WiFi
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Yes
Tours Available
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Yes
TORRE DEL VESCOVO - Castello di Montalto The historic Castle of Montalto lies in one of the loveliest and most unspoiled parts of the Chianti area of Tuscany, not far from Siena. It is very centrally located for art touring, an excellent home base for sight-seeing, winery visits and exploring hill towns and back roads.
Part of the castle and the houses surrounding it are offered directly by the owner as self-catering vacation rental accommodations. The estate has a swimming pool, a tennis court, an ample library, laundry facilities, private gardens and extensive woods for pleasant walks and jogging. There are beautiful vistas over the farmed fields in the valley.
Silence and peace provide a restful environment, and a part-time concierge assists our guests. You will enjoy independence and privacy but not be isolated. Montalto Castle, having various separate houses of different size, common gathering spaces and a lovely chapel.
The Owners
The Castle of Montalto has long been family owned, first by the Berardenga family, then by the Palmieri, and finally by ourselves, Giovanni and Diana Coda-Nunziante, who acquired it from cousins in 1970. Giovanni is Italian, Diana is American; we both speak fluent Italian and English and fairly fluent French, some German and a very little Spanish. We live here all year round, with more space than we need – space that we are happy to share with our guests.
We enjoy this life, not only because the income helps to maintain the estate, but especially because the people who choose to come out to the country to spend their vacation in beautiful surroundings in an historic context, who welcome the simple life and the opportunity to visit the famous and less-known art treasures of this incredibly rich area of Italy, are people we like.
We enjoy the opportunity to invite them into our home, to show them our collection of ancient weapons and to repeat the history and legends of the castle, and we enjoy talking to them. Many have become our lasting friends.
Come visit us and travel back to medieval times; imagine yourself as one of the original dwellers of the village... there is so much history surrounding you!
Montalto has a rich past dating back over one thousand years. Because of its position overlooking the fertile valley of the Ambra (an affluent of the Arno river which flows through Florence), Montalto has seen periods of turbulence as well as economic prosperity, before becoming the beautiful and tranquil vacation spot it is today.
Services
Unlike a hotel, Montalto offers independent villas and apartments in and around the castle for rent to vacationers seeking the quiet country atmosphere of Tuscany. Unlike a condo, we have a part time concierge to help our guests in the way of tourist and restaurant information, train schedules, auto rental, etc. We try to provide a friendly environment and the assistance that you may need to make your stay at Montalto complete.
Rates include kitchenware, sheets and towels (exchanged weekly), water, gas and electricity, heating, firewood, use of the comunal sport activities, normal final cleaning and all taxes.
For those interested in outdoor activities, as well as a large swimming pool, we have a tennis court, bocce ball, ping pong, bicycles, a small children’s playground, and maps of the many trails through fields and woods around the castle.
A common room, the Scrittoio, has parlour games and a multi-lingual library.
In our office you will find sight-seeing brochures and magazines offering information on the area. We try to keep updated on the many things to do in the surroundings such as concerts, special events, etc (you may check the To do in the area page for an overview), and we will be happy to provide the assistance you may need in obtaining tickets and often discounts. In the office you can also purchase postcards and stamps, local handcrafts, or our extra virgin olive oil to bring back home with you. And there is a computer with Internet access for you to check your email (although the connection is not extremely fast).
Torre del Vescovo
6/7 people - size about 160 sq. m
Two-story apartment comprising part of the main structure of the castle, including the original watchtower. Access via flight of steps from castle courtyard.
Downstairs: Living/dining room with antiques, frescoes, fireplace, piano, TV/VCR, convertible sofa. Private telephone. Kitchen with dish-washer and clothes-washer. Bathroom (with shower). Central heating. Gravel terrace with flower border, table and chairs for outdoor dining, portable barbecue.
Upstairs: Bedroom A with queen-size bed and bathroom en suite (shower over tub); bedroom B with 2 single beds; bedroom C with queen-size bed. Bathroom off corridor with shower over tub. Central heating in bedroom A and individually controlled electric heating in bedrooms B and C. Access to top of tower from bedroom C. From stairway, access via roofed open balcony to tiny study in tower with single bed (can be used in summer as bedroom D).
A separate facing apartment can conveniently be added to accomodate 2 more people (see San Martino tower 1503-200), giving full privacy also to an entrance garden.
Siena
The 13th century city hall of Siena is considered one of the most beautiful in Europe, as is the shell-shaped Piazza del Campo it fronts on. The Cathedral has a magnificent inlaid marble floor, with stories from the bible and classical mythology, a pulpit by Giovanni Pisano, a statue by Donatello and a chcoir-book library beautifully frescoed by Pinturicchio. The Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, beside it, holds the altarpiece so beloved by the populace when it was painted by Duccio di Buoninsegna in the 14th century that the whole town carried it in procession to the cathedral. The former hospital on the other side of street, now a museum, grew bit by bit from the 11th century on: it is here that St. Catherine of Siena nursed lepers and victims of the Black Plague.
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